Graded unopened packs?

GoSoxBoSox

Can somebody please explain the draw to collect these to me? I just can't see spending the money for something you can never open or never will open. You could have the best card in the set or a bunch of miscut commons.

Is that the draw....not knowing?

LuxuryWines

Tom,

I generally do not buy unopened packs (Too much of a crap shoot if you ask me). But I think part of the allure is that they give you protection from packs that have been searched and resealed .....

SUPERPUNK813

If you don't like to gamble then don't buy vintage packs! It gets old fast just looking at them and you never know what your going to get when you bust packs, Ive had a GAI 9 pack that didn't hold a single PSA 8 or higher card (this is rare) and ive had GAI 7 packs that i pulled as many as four cards that graded PSA 9. Its a crap shoot for sure.





Paul.

packCollector

grade of the pack is completely irrelavent to the cards taht you will get. I open most 70's packs that I can but that are graded 7 since those can be picked up cheaply. I keeep the higher grade packs. The attraction is this, how many 63 mantles fo you see, you can get one whenever you want? ow many 63 5c packs can you get, you have to search extensively,how many 64 philly star cards can you find, quite afew , I doubt you will find another pack like the one in my signature line. that is why I collect them

GoSoxBoSox

<< <i>ow many 63 5c packs can you get, you have to search extensively,how many 64 philly star cards can you find, quite afew , I doubt you will find another pack like the one in my signature line. that is why I collect them >>




packman,

There's a reason you can't find them. 'cause most want the cards inside them, not the wrappers around them. I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade with this post. Just trying to understand.

To me it's like having a willing Playboy Playmate in front of you but you make her keep her clothing on?

packCollector

anyway to have the playmate both ways? let me know

I think it's something that will never be figured out. I know my wife doesn't get it either. she is always saying $500 and you don't even know what your getting and you aren't going to find out. you're crazy

CW

Much like what packCollector has said, I think the draw of collecting
unopened packs is the scarcity of the unopened pack. Some people will
pay mucho dinero for a '52 Topps 1 cent pack which contains one card,
a card they might actually be able to see through the pack. Open the
pack and you might have a common worth $100. Keep it sealed and it's
an UNcommon pack worth $2K.

I don't personally collect unopened material, but apparently prices have
gone up since the mid 90's which leads to more people trying to create
counterfeit unopened boxes and packs. This, in turn, led to Mark
Murphy's collaboration with GAI in their pack grading endeavor. Sellers
get more money for their packs, and buyers can rest assured it's legit.

I am with you -- collecting packs is not for me, but I've definitely
surprised a lot of people when I tell them how much I spend on cardboard.
One part of the unopened pack hobby that I could relate to is the
collecting of vintage empty wax pack display boxes. Seems like a great
item to display with whatever set you're collecting, not to mention they
look cool, too.

Chuck

gemint

People need to understand that unopened packs have a beauty in and of themselves. Don't view them as wax paper with potentially unvaluable cards inside. Think of them as works of art. What better way to complete a high grade vintage set than to add an unopened pack from that year to the set. I don't think a set is truly complete without one.

They don't design packs like these anymore...

Griffins

I agree with Gemint, they just don't make them like that. For the set collector it's a good way to finish off the set- I try to have the set, variations, an uncut panel or two, empty wax box and a pack. With all the bogus ones out there having it slabbed offers a little more security while preserving the pack.
Additionally they make a great display piece, and nothing takes me back to that first summer of sneaking off to the liquor store like a few '70 packs sitting in the wax box, just like I saw them over 30 years ago.
I have no plans to open any- in a few years time what will be rarer: a PSA 9 common or an unopened pack?

GoSoxBoSox

Well said gemint. That said, anyone have an unopened pack of 1934 Goudey's sitting around their house?

frankhardy

There are many people who don't even understand paying what we do for ANY cards. My wife sure didn't understand, until I doubled my money on a 1953 Topps Complete Set. Now, she WANTS me buying them.

I am an unopened pack collector. I think they are a nice bonus to have along with my cards. Plus, they sort of take me back to my childhood when I opened my first pack of cards (1983 Topps). I decided to go back to my birth year (1975) and get one from each year and series that Topps made. As of last month, I have unopened packs (series 1 & 2) from 1975 (GAI 8) through 2004. I will continue this. I have also started an upopened pack collection for my son from his birth year (2000). I think it is also neat to get those rack packs and cello packs with stars like McGwire on the front. Is is neat, and inexpensive if you stick to the 1980's.

RedHeart54

For me, I find it alluring that an unopened pack is a group of cards that have been essentially frozen in time since they were placed in the pack. For every world and personal event, my packs have remained intact. There's just something amazing about the fact that a pack of cards can remain in its original state for 20-30+ years.

miami3

I was a big time collector of unopened packs, boxes, and cases in the 1980's before they were graded and more actively collected.

At the time, Paul Wright and myself were the only dealers/collectors who advertised in SCD with old unopened stuff, so this was way before the days of Mark Murphy and DA Card world getting into them.

I had to liquidate my collection of packs in the early 90's as I was starting a family and needed the extra cash to buy such silly things like Baby formula and diapers.

I feel that the big attraction to collecting these packs is the how great they look when displayed properly and the lure of not knowing whats inside.

Whenever someone would come over to my house, the packs were a hot topic of discussion as we all grew up tearing open packs at one time or another.

I think that GAI is providing the collector with an excellent service to verify the quality and authentication of the pack bieng unopened and that PSA should also offer this service to the hobby.